Closing the doors for hackers on a holiday shopping spree: SMB and consumer edition
Over the past several years, holiday shopping trends have shifted significantly. Standing in long lines or driving to crowded malls has been replaced by browsing on social platforms and entering discount codes at website checkouts. This year, Cyber Monday online sales hit an all-time high, reaching a nearly 20% year-over-year increase with online shoppers spending $9.4 billion. However, the allure of single-day shopping sprees has been extended to encompass a full season. Since November 1st, shoppers have spent a record-setting $81.5 billion. In the days and weeks ahead, the figures will continue to add up as the shopping boon crescendos on Christmas and continues for weeks to come. While this is excellent news for SMBs, bad actors have also taken notice. Hackers are zeroing in on this holiday shopping season as the perfect opportunity to siphon off money and credentials from unsuspecting consumers and unprepared companies. Fortunately, neither party is defenseless in this regard. Follow along to learn how we can work together and protect our privacy and security this holiday season, keeping spirits high to usher in 2020. Shoppers Beware 2019 is on pace to be the worst year yet for data breaches, and hackers are capitalizing on the treasure trove of information available from these events to execute phishing scams targeted at shoppers. In November, the number of e-commerce phishing URLs accessed or sent via email spiked . Already, instances of this malicious activity are up 233% since November 2018. Amidst the slew of holiday deals, it’s easy for cybercriminals to send phishing links or exploit shoppers with seemingly valid websites that deploy hallmarks of internet security, like HTTPS encryption. In 2018, the risk was so severe that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a warning to consumers, urging them to “be cautious of unsolicited emails that contain malicious links or attachments with malware, advertisements infected with malware, and requests for donations from fraudulent charitable organizations, which could result in security breaches, identity theft, or financial loss. Collectively, these threats increase the impetus for consumers to be vigilant about evaluating their digital communications during the busy holiday shopping season. Moreover, they should protect their accounts using strong, unique passwords while enabling two-factor authentication whenever possible. It’s estimated that the vast majority of consumers, as many as 66%, use weak passwords to protect their accounts, and more than half use the same password across multiple logins. In other words, simple password management is a foundational practice for guarding against cybercrime and stopping the Grinch from finding his way to the presents underneath your Christmas tree.
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